A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide for a national Federal write-in absentee ballot for domestic use.
Latest action · May 9, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 9, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to create a national federal write-in absentee ballot that must be made available on the internet in a printable format.
States must permit certain individuals to use the ballot to cast a vote in any election for federal office. The individuals who qualify to use the ballot are those who
- reside in an area where a state of emergency has been declared by the state due to a natural disaster,
- expect to be absent from their jurisdiction on election day due to professional or volunteer service in response to a natural disaster or emergency,
- expect to be hospitalized on election day, or
- requested an absentee ballot but did not receive it in time for it to be counted in the election.
Cosponsors 10
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 9, 2019 to Dec 4, 2019, with 7 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-NM | Tom Udall | Original | May 9, 2019 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Nov 18, 2019 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Nov 19, 2019 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Dec 4, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 9, 2019Introduced in Senate
- May 9, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3529 | Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 | Related bill | Mar 18, 2020 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 9, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
